Nuclear power has been a hotbed topic for most of the past 50 years. After the catastrophic disasters at Chernobyl and Fukushima, public awareness of the dangers and shortcomings of nuclear power generation were at all-time highs. However, we’ve seen a worrying trend of disinterest in the past few years which is important to rectify. Nuclear power issues are more important than ever.

Most of our current concerns aren’t related to new plants. In fact, after the japanese disaster, very few (if any) nuclear plants are being built in America. That’s some victory, but it’s only one part of the equation. Many older plants are also now slated to be decommissioned. That’s good news in theory, but the reality is much more complicated.

The problem here is that once the public hears the word “decommissioned”, that’s generally as far as their thoughts actually go. In reality, a nuclear power plant can be even more dangerous after it’s been relegated to the junkyard than when it is fully operational.

That’s because when a nuclear power plant is in operation, it’s strictly monitored, and kept up to safety standards. While current regulations are far from perfect, they are at least followed systematically and with some degree of regularity. The process of decommissioning, on the other hand, is really not so well-planned. There isn’t a standardized procedure across the board, and there’s a startling lack of clarity in terms of the actual process of shutting the site down, containing radioactive waste, and transporting it to a site for disposal.

Plants in the decommissioning process have a track record of leaks, spills and scares. They’re also extremely vulnerable to attack or exploitation by terrorist forces or other security threats. When we take our eye off the ball, it moves quickly. See the attached article below for a incisive write-up of how one plant, Pilgrim in CT, is (or isn’t) dealing with the process of being decommissioned. It’s an important wake-up call for all concerned citizens, and an excellent piece to share among friends who may not be as attuned to these issues as you are yourself

-demanding environmental scrutiny of the decommissioning and decontamination process

-asking real questions about how waste will be contained and transported once the plant is shut down

Your voices can be the difference between a transparent, functional process of decommissioning and a messy disaster that takes years to clean up, and which could cause untold (and still worse, unknown) damage to public health, land, and drinking water. If you know of a plant in your state that is in the process of being decommissioned, and want to find out more about what you can do to make a difference, get in touch at the Take Action page. We’ll connect you with others in your area to help you work effectively.

To read more about the waste crisis, see the article “Pilgrim’s Progress: Inside the American Nuclear Waste Crisis” from the New Yorker (readable freely online). If you live near a nuclear power site and want to reduce radiation levels inside your home, see this.

One question many NTR members and readers request that we cover is radiation levels in the home. While most of us don’t have any severe or imminent radiation threat to worry about in the average households, there’s a lot you can do to lessen your exposure, something that’s super important for families who live next to current or former nuclear power sites or installations.

Especially if you live near a nuclear power station, you are constantly being exposed to background levels of radiation. While the authorities will probably tell you that you’re not in any imminent danger, those of us who pay attention to these issues are wary enough to want to minimize any exposure.

If you live downwind of a power station, or within a reasonable radius, you should take measures to cut down on outside dust particles and dirt in your home. It can all contain traces of radioactivity which can collect in your home. Use an air purifier to reduce floating dust particles which you might breathe in. Make sure it has HEPA-grade filtration, which basically means that it catches all the tiny particles, and has been lab-tested to work well enough to help people with high sensitivity to airborne allergens like dust particles. We would also advise using a high-filter vacuum to remove particles from carpeting. Get something with a filter bag so that you can contain everything to one specific spot, and clean regularly to try and keep everything contained as much as possible. It’s actually easiest to simply buy a pet allergy vacuum, since these are designed to reduce the kinds of allergens that can also be bringing harmful radiation into your home.

It’s also essential to eliminate sources of radiation in your home itself. Nothing the average homeowner keeps around is going to put off the kind of radiation that we’re talking about from nuclear power plants, but all radiation can be harmful to some degree if you’re at constant level of exposure.

Here are some NTR guidelines for cutting down on radiation at home:

-unplug your microwave, or dispose of it altogether. Microwave radiation is extremely troubling, especially since its long-term health impacts haven’t been well-reviewed. The ACM is currently recommending that most people move away from microwave usage, and instead use a toaster or convection oven to reheat foods or cook meals. You don’t want to be eating irradiated food.

-only turn wifi and cell phone on when necessary. Wifi internet access provides an unquestionable convenience, but it also comes with a cost, since you’re constantly pumping questionable radiation into your airwaves. Since you’re at close proximity to your router when you’re in the computer room, it’s more like direct radiation than background waves.

We still love our wifi, and most current PC’s won’t work without it, since ethernet cables are generally not used any more. That’s why we think you should focus on limiting your exposure and being cognizant of when you’re leaving the router running without actually making use of the wifi. We suggest starting to turn your wifi off at night, and then gradually being more conscious of switching it off when you aren’t going to be using the web for a while. The same goes for your cell phone.

Try to set routine times of the day when you’ll check your messages and make your necessary calls, then switch your phone off it between. If you’re waiting for a call or an important text, it’s perfectly reasonable to leave your cell phone on. Just keep it away from your body, and make sure to turn it off when you’re done with it. It’s all about limiting your exposure, just as you would take the extra few steps around a smoker to avoid breathing in the toxic fumes.

Most manufacturers don’t want to talk about cell phone radiation. It’s a real health concern for nearly every American. Yet the FCC refuses to investigate it properly, or force a real scientific study to be done on its health impacts and potential risks. We find it extremely worrying that most of the top brass at the FCC and other government regulatory agencies is made up of telecommunications executives, not scientists. Once you know that the former head of Verizon runs the show, it all starts to make sense why we don’t get a lot of public awareness on cell phone safety and radiation.

Thankfully, European safety authorities have studied it, and that’s why they have much stricter radiation standards in place. If they didn’t have standards in place, you can bet emissions levels from smartphones in particular would be astronomically higher. The EU and the WHO have both flagged cell radiation as a possible carcinogen, in advance of further research.

We’ve been reading the studies conducted in Europe, along with reporting from independent journalists who have made the effort to research our situation here in America. Here’s what we know: cell phone radiation poses a real and present cancer risk, even if we haven’t had the technology around long enough to conduct a standard cancer-risk trial. We also know that most other countries are setting stricter standards for radiation levels than we are here, telling us that they know something we don’t. In fact, if you look carefully at Apple’s legal documentation for its iPhones, you’ll find that the company admits that the phones only meet regulations for radiation at 5 mm away from the body. Most Americans press their phones right up to their skulls, which means that the radiation levels they’re exposed to are actually much higher than the maximum “safe” threshold recommended. The fact is, we here in the US are refusing to study cell phone radiation because our regulatory agencies are staffed with former executives, and our elected officials are bought out by telecommunications lobbyists.

So, here’s the real truth. You’re at risk of high levels of radiation whenever you use your cell phone close you your head, or when you keep it powered on while it’s in your pocket. According to the world’s top health experts, there are serious concerns about what the long-term health effects will be from that exposure.

Here’s what you can do to reduce your exposure

Keep your phone off when it’s in your pocket. Any time when your phone is directly touching skin or in close proximity, you’re being exposed to high radiation levels, usually higher than rated for safety. Always turn your phone off if you’re on a walk, or switch to airplane mode if you have a smartphone. Use a wool sleeve or other barrier to keep radiation from your body if you need to have your phone on while it’s in your pocket. It’s always better to use a backpack or keep your phone in your briefcase when it’s on but you’re not actually using it.

Always, always, always make calls using a headset. Stick with old-school wired earbuds, not bluetooth headsets, since wireless headsets are just trading one kind of radiation for another. The brain is obviously one of the most susceptible internal organs to radiation, so it’s super important to keep it safe.

If you’re a smartphone user and often make calls at home, consider getting a compatible dock. You can use the hands-free and speakerphone features to make all your calls with your phone at a safe distance.

To recap: cell phones are clearly some sort of hazard, but the research is still out on just how dangerous their radiation is. Try to minimize your exposure at all times, especially around your head. We’ll keep you posted on any new updates, but in the meantime, you should search for “cell radiation WHO report” to learn more about the current science.